Former Credit Suisse broker Julian Tzolov and his colleague Eric Butler “juiced up the rates” during client sales pitches, promising interest rates on federally backed student loans that were higher than the actual rates at the time, Tzolov testified in Butler’s trial.

“If the interest rate at the time was 4.92 or 4.93, I would add four or five points on top of it and show it to a prospective client to entice them to consider the product,” Tzolov testified yesterday in Brooklyn federal court, under questioning by Assistant US Attorney Greg Andres.

Butler, 37, and Tzolov, 36, were charged last year with falsely telling clients they were investing in federally guaranteed student loans that were a safe alternative to bank deposits or money market funds. In fact, they put the money into riskier securities, the government said.